


At the Edge of the Ocean

by Annariel



Category: Primeval
Genre: Gen, rebuilding friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-13
Updated: 2016-06-13
Packaged: 2018-07-14 21:00:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7190036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annariel/pseuds/Annariel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After nearly dying in Leek's cage room, Stephen has left the ARC and is attempting to rebuild his life.  But events in the form of a remote bird sanctuary, an anomaly and a flock of pterosaurs, get in the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	At the Edge of the Ocean

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the primeval_denial.livejournal.com art prompt challenge for an image made by fredbassett.
> 
> Thanks to fififolle for beta-reading.

Stephen scanned the sand and cliffs as he picked his way along Entway Beach. It was a bright clear day with enough of a breeze to make it pleasant but something was setting him on edge. He tried to settle his mind as he walked and concentrate just on his surroundings: a trick he had found helped him when tracking. It let him focus on the details that nature was showing him. Almost consciously he allowed himself to forget about the leaking tap at his B&B that he had promised to fix, the low-level gossip in the little town about plans to open an outdoor sports centre in the failing industrial estate, and the large and unopened package of mail his sister had forwarded from her last visit to his London flat.

He scrambled over a rocky outcrop. As he reached the top, his mind picked out the details that were disturbing him. The screeches of the seabirds that normally crowded these cliffs were strangely muted, almost silent. Stephen paused on a flat rocky surface to fish his binoculars out of his backpack and he used them to scan the cliffs and the sky. He couldn't see anything out of place, but the beach wasn't a good vantage point. He would see more when he got to the hide up on the clifftops.

Slinging the binoculars around his neck and reshouldering his backpack, Stephen jumped down to the sand and headed with renewed urgency to the narrow path that would take him up the cliffs and onto the headland.

There was a low black shape in the sand just below the foot of the path. Stephen saw it as he rounded the bottom of the cliffs and regarded it with foreboding. With a sick sense of resignation, he trudged over the sands towards it, his worst fears being confirmed as he drew closer. It was the body of a man in black combat fatigues, spreadeagled on the ground. Stephen automatically did a quick scan for track and prints but he knew there were none. The man had almost certainly fallen from the cliffs above. Stephen crouched beside the body, taking care not to touch anything. Up close he could see the flash of the ARC insignia on the man's shoulder. A large tranquiliser gun was still clutched in the man's hand.

Stephen stood and looked up at the cliffs. Everything seemed calm and peaceful up there, but he wasn't under any illusions. Common sense suggested he should retrace his footsteps back along the beach until he came within mobile phone reception once more and then he should call the authorities. 

Stephen picked up the tranquiliser rifle and checked briefly to make sure it was undamaged. The soldier had a pouch of spare darts at his belt and, with distaste, Stephen raided that as well. Then he headed to the path and started to climb.

* * *

Entway Beach ran along the foot of a peninsula that stretched out several kilometres into the Atlantic. It was narrow with poor soil and no running water, and so was virtually untouched by humans. It had become a refuge for birds. Stephen was working there for the summer as part of an observational study of the bird behaviour. It involved spending long days far away from anyone, taking notes and film. At low tide the headland was accessible along the beach, but for most of the time it could only be reached via a narrow rocky path. Stephen had a good head for heights but even he avoided the high path when he could. The wind could shriek across it with force and there was a long way to fall. In the not too distant future some storm would collapse even that path and the peninsula would become an island. 

Stephen reached the top of the path and stood on the exposed top of the peninsula, the wind battering at his body. He was unsurprised to spot an anomaly. It hung out over the sea on the other side of the peninsula. A couple of small boats were circling underneath it, no doubt containing more personnel from the ARC. Stephen moved forward and up a low rise, scanning for trouble. Somewhere birds were mobbing something, the sound was unmistakable, though Stephen was having trouble identifying the call and that concerned him as much as anything.

He gasped when he actually managed to get a view of the commotion. Loosely speaking he was watching a mob of birds, but these were pterosaurs. There were about half a dozen of them, though it was a little difficult to tell and they were mobbing a man who was running along the narrow path that joined the peninsula to the mainland. Stephen would have recognised the man anywhere. It was unmistakably Nick Cutter and there was no way he was going to make it to safer ground, not with the way the large pre-historic creatures were circling and diving at him.

Stephen let out a loud holler, hoping the wind would carry his voice to the birds, and dashed forwards, raising the tranquiliser rifle. It was a couple of agonising minutes before he was in range at the edge of the cliff top path. He dropped to one knee to steady himself and shot the first pterosaur. It reared up into the air and wheeled. Feeling strangely calm, Stephen slipped a second dart into the rifle, shouldered it once more and aimed at another of the beasts. That shot went wide.

The first pterosaur dropped out of the sky and skidded to an ungainly stop on the ground of the headland, the tranquiliser having taken its effect. 

Stephen loaded another dart. He had four left. He shouldered the rifle and shot again. This was a hit. The pterosaurs were began to sense that something was amiss. They abandoned their attack on Nick and rose up into the air. Then one of them spotted Stephen and dived towards him. Stephen shot another dart straight at it and then threw himself flat onto the ground. There was a whistle of wind across his back and something tugged at the fabric of his shirt. He rolled over, braced himself again and fired at the next creature. There were two darts left, not nearly enough, but it should give Nick time to get clear. Stephen raised the rifle and shot first one dart and then the other. He kept his attention fixed on the pterosaurs that were bearing down upon him, refusing to turn or run until he had bought Nick as much time as possible.

"No, Stephen!" Nick was shouting from somewhere.

Stephen realised with a sinking feeling that Nick had turned and was now running back along the path towards him.

"Nick! Get out of here!" Stephen shouted, just as a pterosaur swooped towards his face, talons outstretched.

Stephen ducked, but not quite fast enough. He felt a sharp pain and the stickiness of blood. He staggered to his feet and started to run in the direction of the bird-watching hide, but the pterosaurs now had their attention fixed upon him and they swooped and dived in his path, driving him towards the edge of the cliff.

Suddenly there was a very loud bang. Stephen shook his head to clear the ringing in his ears. Moments later Nick grabbed him and began to pull him back towards the high path.

"We have to get to the mainland," Nick shouted.

The pterosaurs had backed off investigating a small plume of smoke, no doubt whatever Nick had just set off. Stephen doubted it would keep them occupied for long, however, and the path to the mainland was far too exposed to attempt.

"No! This way! There's a hide!" he shouted.

He was relieved that Nick allowed himself to be dragged along to the far end of the peninsula where the little wooden hide hung over the edge of the cliff. Stephen fumbled with the combination to the padlock while Nick breathed heavily next to him, casting anxious glances to where the pterosaurs still circled. Then the door swung open and they tumbled down the steep steps into the body of the hide itself.

Stephen slumped on the narrow bench that ran along one wall of the hide, feeling his heart thumping in his chest and riding the adrenaline high. Nick leaned against the wall taking deep gasping breaths.

"You should have carried on to the mainland," Stephen said, once he had his breath back.

"And leave you to try to sacrifice yourself again?" Nick said, sounding angry.

"I had a gun."

"I had a smoke bomb. I knew what I was doing."

Nick was red in the face from more than just the exertion. Stephen waved a defeated hand, recognising they were about to get into another argument. He could hardly believe that they were arguing within exchanging half a dozen words with each other. It was over a year since Stephen had been discharged from hospital and had walked away from his former life at the ARC.

Nick slumped back against the wall again. Possibly he was thinking something similar.

"Look, I know you were trying to save me and I'm grateful. But I couldn't bear it if you got hurt instead of me again. You don't need to atone for something you didn't do. You don't need forgiveness from me. I can't carry that sort of burden."

Stephen blinked. "That doesn't sound much like you."

Nick gave a rueful grin. "Jenny and Lester made me see a therapist. He wasn't entirely useless."

"Is that why you never came to see me in the hospital?" Stephen asked. "Because I was a burden?"

Nick grimaced. "Now you're putting words into my mouth. I didn't say that, and I did come to see you."

"When I was unconscious!" Stephen pointed out.

Nick had never once visited while Stephen was awake, though he had sent messages with the rest of the ARC staff who did visit. Messages that assured Stephen there was still a place from him at the ARC, that all was forgiven and forgotten, but they sounded weak and unconvincing in the mouths of Abby and Connor.

Nick hung his head, a gesture Stephen recognised. It was as close as Nick Cutter ever really got to admitting he was wrong.

Stephen shrugged, to show he was going to let this go if Nick was. Nick straightened up and cast his eyes around the tiny hide. There was a small camp stove, enough to boil a kettle, a jar of coffee and a second containing tea bags, plus a biscuit tin. His eyes fell on the teddy bear propped up in one corner. Nick lifted him up.

"You kept him," he said in surprise.

Stephen felt himself blushing. The toy had been among the many gifts brought to the hospital. It had come with a card signed by most of the people he knew at the ARC, including Nick.

Stephen fidgeted with his fingers, uncomfortable at being asked to explain why he had kept the bear. "Well, you know," he said.

"I thought it was a stupid idea," Nick said a little gruffly. "I guess I was wrong."

"The conservation books were more useful. I've got them back at the B&B." Nick had sent several very expensive textbooks in delicate tissue wrapping. "Yogi comes with me to hides and the like though."

"Yogi?"

"Connor named him."

"I think it was Connor's idea, though Abby chose the actual bear."

Nick sat down again, still holding the bear, a slight smile at the corners of his mouth. "The memories aren't all bad then?"

Stephen shook his head. 

"There's still a place for you, if you wanted to come back you know. More so now. We're expanding. There will be a second team."

Stephen looked out of the window of the hide. The seabirds were clustered on the cliff while the pterosaurs continued to wheel in the sky above. The view was breath-taking.

"No pressure though," Nick added suddenly.

Stephen looked back at him and couldn't help smiling at Nick's anxious expression. "A little pressure's always been good for me."

"That's as mebbe, but in those last few months at the ARC, I behaved very unfairly, I..."

"Don't," Stephen interrupted. He suddenly realised he couldn't imagine anything more uncomfortable than being trapped in a hide with a Nick Cutter who was trying to explain the months of tension that had preceded Stephen trapping himself in a room full of predators.

"Just don't," he added more gently. "Can we just assume that we both regret the way we behaved?"

"I think I have more to regret though. Jenny's being doing some digging into Helen's record at CMU. They've been trying to get in touch with you to give evidence at an internal inquiry."

Stephen blinked in confusion, "About what?"

"You weren't the first student she seduced. If I'd been thinking straight, I'd have known that. A lot of questions have been raised. It's a nightmareish mess, to be honest. Accusations of bias in marking, questions about who knew or suspected what, concerns that someone is going to lodge an official complaint and Jenny absolutely refusing to let them sweep it all back under the carpet."

Stephen grimaced. "I didn't think Jenny even liked me that much."

"Well, I think she feels a bit guilty about what happened as well. But all the kerfuffle has made it a lot harder for me to keep on pretending that you are the guilty party here."

"I am the guilty party."

Nick shook Yogi at Stephen, looked as if he was about to say something and then apparently changed his mind. "I'll get Jenny to send you some of the paperwork once we're out of here. It's pretty unequivocal about where responsibility lies when a supervisor has an affair with her PhD student. Even more so when it's a pattern of behaviour, but you can make up your own mind."

Stephen stared at Nick. He felt his own emotions rising, a sense of anger that Nick should suggest Stephen hadn't been special to Helen and a sick realisation that he wanted to consider himself guilty, precisely because he had wanted to believe he was special. 

"I think I'm still a bit in love with her."

Nick shook the bear again and pulled a face. Stephen couldn't help but laugh.

Nick smiled. "Aye, well lad, she's an incredible woman. There's no doubt about that. But I'm sorry I let her come between our friendship. I'd like to make it up."

Nick looked down at Yogi, patted his head, and placed him back on the window of the hide. 

"Anyway, as I said, no pressure. Yogi here can keep an eye on you."

"I'm not even sure why I kept him. I've never been much of a one for stuff."

"Well I'm sure my therapist would have no end of rubbish to say about that. But I won't bore you with it."

Stephen couldn't help another small laugh. He had missed the Nick Cutter that combined grumbling with humour.

"What are they doing?" Nick said suddenly, leaning against the window.

Stephen looked out. A motor boat was racing towards the anomaly. As it drew close a large red kite rose up behind it.

"That'll be Connor's idea. He's a bright lad," Nick said approvingly.

"Do you think it will work?"

The pterosaurs' attention had obviously been grabbed by the kite. They swooped out over the sea. Stephen pulled out his binoculars and focused them on the boat. 

"I think Connor's on the boat," he said. There was certainly a dark-haired man in the back of the boat dancing excitedly from foot to foot.

Nick sighed. "He also has all the sense of self-preservation of a lemming. Is Abby there?"

Stephen spotted a flash of bleached blonde in the boat's cabin. "I think so."

"Hopefully she'll stop him doing anything too suicidal."

The boat circled around the anomaly. One of the pterosaurs flew through the light and vanished. Stephen held his breath. A second pterosaur vanished. One by one the big creatures flew away until only one was left, doggedly chasing the kite. The motor boat slowed and the creature pounced on the kite, pulling it upwards. Connor cut the rope and the pterosaur rose free. Its claws shredded the red cloth and then dropped it to fall into the water. Stephen sensed that everyone was waiting with baited breath to see what would happen next. The pterosaur circled the anomaly one more time and then flew through to follow its friends.

"Looks like that's sorted," Stephen said.

Nick nodded. "Let's signal the team. Can they land on the beach down there?"

"If they've got a dinghy, yes."

"Will you come and meet them? I think they'd like to see you. No..."

"No pressure, yes, I heard that." Stephen grinned at Cutter, who grinned back.

"Aye, well, you have to excuse me getting a little repetitive occasionally. Old age, you know."

They climbed out of the hide and waved to the boats out on the water. Connor waved back and then they headed down the cliff path to the beach.

"Shouldn't you have a radio or something?" Stephen asked.

Nick had the grace to look a little embarrassed. "Said I didn't need one if Bates was with me. I don't like the things. They irritate my ears."

Stephen resisted the temptation to comment. Poor Bates' body was still on the beach and Cutter didn't need Stephen to tell him why he'd been an idiot. 

Instead, as they walked down the path, Stephen talked to him about the conservation project and the bird monitoring. They fell into an old rhythm analysing his observations and discussing hypotheses. A couple of dinghies were beached on the shore when they got down. Stephen could see black-clad soldiers lifting their comrade's body into one of them. Connor, Abby and Jenny were in the other.

Stephen was surprised and touched at the pleasure Connor and Abby displayed. He wasn't used to being hugged so much or pressed excitedly for news and updates. It was slightly overwhelming and he was relieved when Jenny deftly deflected Connor onto a question he needed to ask Cutter and then did some silent communication thing with Abby that had her draw back.

"Hi," Stephen found himself saying, unsure what she wanted.

"Hi," she smiled back. "Thanks for your help up there."

Stephen ducked his head. "It was nothing."

Jenny made a noise that suggested she didn't agree but wasn't going to push the point. "Did Cutter behave himself?" she asked.

Stephen couldn't help a slight smile as he considered all the scenarios Jenny might have imagined. "He was good as gold, for Cutter anyway."

She smiled back at him. "He's been itching to get you back on the team now we're expanding. I've had my work cut-out to prevent him turning the full force of the government into locating you. I hope he didn't try to pressurise you into anything."

Stephen chuckled quietly. "He said `No pressure' quite a lot."

Jenny's smile answered his and Stephen had a sudden sense of companionship in another Cutter-wrangler. "Good. The offer is definitely open, if you want the job, but I wouldn't want anyone involved who didn't really want to be."

Stephen nodded. "I'll give it some thought."

He looked across the beach. Cutter was deep in conversation with Connor but, as if he sensed Stephen looking, he glanced up. He raised one hand half in acknowledgement of Stephen's presence. Stephen realised that he really was going to give the offer some thought.


End file.
